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This paper employs algebraic transformation to describe complex social network learning (SNL) behaviors under continuous expected payoff. Three distinct algorithms are then introduced that factor in uncertainty and heterogeneity. We find that individuals' strategies tend to converge through SNL. We then construct a framework for studying the convergence process in the principal–agent relationship by applying our SNL algorithms to distinct scenarios. Our results show that network topology plays a significant role in changes in the payoffs and the convergence speed of individuals' strategies. We also evaluate the impacts of uncertainty, heterogeneity, agents' output efficiency and risk aversion, and individual's centrality on the effectiveness of SNL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histone demethylase JMJD2D (also known as KDM4D) can specifically demethylate H3K9me2/3 to activate its target gene expression. Our previous study has demonstrated that JMJD2D can protect intestine from dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis by activating Hedgehog signaling; however, its involvement in host defense against enteric attaching and effacing bacterial infection remains unclear. The present study was aimed to investigate the role of JMJD2D in host defense against enteric bacteria and its underlying mechanisms. The enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium (C. rodentium) model was used to mimic clinical colonic infection. The responses of wild-type and JMJD2D-/- mice to oral infection of C. rodentium were investigated. Bone marrow chimeric mice were infected with C. rodentium. JMJD2D expression was knocked down in CMT93 cells by using small hairpin RNAs, and Western blot and real-time PCR assays were performed in these cells. The relationship between JMJD2D and STAT3 was studied by co-immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation. JMJD2D was significantly up-regulated in colonic epithelial cells of mice in response to Citrobacter rodentium infection. JMJD2D-/- mice displayed an impaired clearance of C. rodentium, more body weight loss, and more severe colonic tissue pathology compared with wild-type mice. JMJD2D-/- mice exhibited an impaired expression of IL-17F in the colonic epithelial cells, which restricts C. rodentium infection by inducing the expression of antimicrobial peptides. Accordingly, JMJD2D-/- mice showed a decreased expression of β-defensin-1, β-defensin-3, and β-defensin-4 in the colonic epithelial cells. Mechanistically, JMJD2D activated STAT3 signaling by inducing STAT3 phosphorylation and cooperated with STAT3 to induce IL-17F expression by interacting with STAT3 and been recruited to the IL-17F promoter to demethylate H3K9me3. Our study demonstrates that JMJD2D contributes to host defense against enteric bacteria through up-regulating IL-17F to induce β-defensin expression. Author summary: Our study aimed to unravel the role of JMJD2D, a histone demethylase also known as KDM4D, in the host's defense against enteric bacterial infections and explore the underlying mechanisms. While we had previously demonstrated JMJD2D's protective effect in DSS-induced colitis by activating Hedgehog signaling, its involvement in defending against enteric attaching and effacing bacterial infections remained unexplored. To address this, we employed a Citrobacter rodentium (C. rodentium) infection model to mimic colonic infections in a clinical context. In response to C. rodentium infection, there was a notable increase in JMJD2D expression within the colonic epithelial cells of mice. Our investigation compared the responses of wild-type mice with those lacking JMJD2D (JMJD2D-/-) following oral C. rodentium infection. Notably, JMJD2D-/- mice exhibited impaired C. rodentium clearance, greater body weight loss, and more severe colonic tissue damage compared to their wild-type counterparts. Subsequent analysis revealed that JMJD2D deficiency resulted in reduced IL-17F expression in colonic epithelial cells. IL-17F is a known regulator that restricts C. rodentium infection by promoting the expression of antimicrobial peptides. Consequently, JMJD2D-/- mice showed diminished expression of critical antimicrobial peptides, including β-defensin-1, β-defensin-3, and β-defensin-4, in their colonic epithelial cells. Mechanistically, we discovered that JMJD2D played a pivotal role in activating STAT3 signaling by enhancing STAT3 phosphorylation. Moreover, JMJD2D collaborated with STAT3 to induce IL-17F expression. This cooperation involved JMJD2D physically interacting with STAT3 and binding to the IL-17F promoter, where it demethylated H3K9me3. In summary, our research reveals that JMJD2D contributes significantly to the host's defense against enteric bacterial infections by up-regulating IL-17F, which in turn induces the expression of antimicrobial peptides such as β-defensins. Our findings provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms governing host defense against enteric bacterial infections, emphasizing the potential therapeutic relevance of targeting JMJD2D in such contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aberrant fucosylation observed in cancer cells contributes to an augmented release of fucosylated exosomes into the bloodstream, where miRNAs including miR-4732-3p hold promise as potential tumor biomarkers in our pilot study. However, the mechanisms underlying the sorting of miR-4732-3p into fucosylated exosomes during lung cancer progression remain poorly understood. Methods: A fucose-captured strategy based on lentil lectin-magnetic beads was utilized to isolate fucosylated exosomes and evaluate the efficiency for capturing tumor-derived exosomes using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and qRT-PCR were performed to determine the levels of miR-4732-3p in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue samples. A co-culture system was established to assess the release of miRNA via exosomes from NSCLC cells. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and miRNA pull-down were applied to validate the interaction between miR-4732-3p and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNPK) protein. Cell functional assays, cell derived xenograft, dual-luciferase reporter experiments, and western blot were applied to examine the effects of miR-4732-3p on MFSD12 and its downstream signaling pathways, and the impact of hnRNPK in NSCLC. Results: We enriched exosomes derived from NSCLC cells using the fucose-captured strategy and detected a significant upregulation of miR-4732-3p in fucosylated exosomes present in the serum, while its expression declined in NSCLC tissues. miR-4732-3p functioned as a tumor suppressor in NSCLC by targeting 3'UTR of MFSD12, thereby inhibiting AKT/p21 signaling pathway to induce cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase. NSCLC cells preferentially released miR-4732-3p via exosomes instead of retaining them intracellularly, which was facilitated by the interaction of miR-4732-3p with hnRNPK protein for selective sorting into fucosylated exosomes. Moreover, knockdown of hnRNPK suppressed NSCLC cell proliferation, with the elevated levels of miR-4732-3p in NSCLC tissues but the decreased expression in serum fucosylated exosomes. Conclusions: NSCLC cells escape suppressive effects of miR-4732-3p through hnRNPK-mediated sorting of them into fucosylated exosomes, thus supporting cell malignant properties and promoting NSCLC progression. Our study provides a promising biomarker for NSCLC and opens a novel avenue for NSCLC therapy by targeting hnRNPK to prevent the "exosome escape" of tumor-suppressive miR-4732-3p from NSCLC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1, also known as NCOA1) frequently functions as a transcriptional coactivator by directly binding to transcription factors and recruiting to the target gene promoters to promote gene transcription by increasing chromatin accessibility and promoting the formation of transcriptional complexes. In recent decades, various biological and pathological functions of SRC-1 have been reported, especially in the context of tumorigenesis. SRC-1 is a facilitator of the progression of multiple cancers, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, neurological cancer, and female genital system cancer. The emerging multiorgan oncogenic role of SRC-1 is still being studied and may not be limited to only steroid hormone-producing tissues. Growing evidence suggests that SRC-1 promotes target gene expression by directly binding to transcription factors, which may constitute a novel coactivation pattern independent of AR or ER. In addition, the antitumour effect of pharmacological inhibition of SRC-1 with agents including various small molecules or naturally active compounds has been reported, but their practical application in clinical cancer therapy is very limited. For this review, we gathered typical evidence on the oncogenic role of SRC-1, highlighted its major collaborators and regulatory genes, and mapped the potential mechanisms by which SRC-1 promotes primary tumour progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acrylamide (AA) is a common heat-generated toxicant in some food. Inhibiting its formation with natural antioxidants is of great significance. The current study aims to investigate the alleviative effect and the underlying mechanism of allicin against AA-induced oxidative stress in BRL-3A cells. BRL-3A cells were pretreated with allicin at different concentrations for 2 h, followed by AA treatment. Cell viability was determined by Cell Counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) status was measured using the 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) method. Levels of oxidative stress markers were determined by measuring total superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and 8-hydroxy-desoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) using commercial kits. Expression of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway-related proteins was determined by Western blotting. Allicin markedly mitigated oxidative and DNA damage by increasing the activities of SOD and GSH-Px and decreasing the levels of ROS and 8-OHdG. Concomitant with these biochemical parameters, pretreatment with allicin reversed the impact of AA on the expression of p-JNK, p-ERK1/2 and p-p38. Allicin combined with SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) and SB202190 (p38 inhibitor) enhanced cell viability in the presence of AA, as opposed to SCH772984 (ERK inhibitor). Notably, allicin ameliorated the expression of KGF, Gadd45a, c-Fos, Dusp5 and Phospholipase A2, which were related to liver injury. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that allicin exerts protective effects against AA-induced oxidative stress by modulating the MAPK signaling pathway in BRL-3A cells. The proposed mechanisms of allicin alleviating oxidative stress in AA-induced BRL-3A cells. Unlabelled Image • Ameliorative effect of allicin was detected by oxidative indexes and MAPK-related proteins. • Allicin alters the expression of KGF, Gadd45a, c-Fos, Dusp5 and Phospholipase A2 induced by AA. • Allicin may activate ERK1/2 and inhibite JNK and p38 pathways against AA-induced stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accurately measure 223Ra dichloride injection by HPGe γ spectrometry, three calibration sources, including mixed mono-energy γ nuclide, 133Ba, and 226Ra, were used to calibrate efficiency at close/far source/sample-detector (S-D) distance. The results show that the efficiency calibration at a far S-D distance can reduce the coincidence effect of the 133Ba and 223Ra simulation source, both far and close S-D are applicable to the 226Ra simulation source; Using 269.48 keV, 271.23 keV and 351.03 keV γ-ray full energy peaks for analysis, the deviation of the results between the simulation sources method and the mono-energy γ nuclide source method is less than 1%. The influence of γ-ray emission probabilities, the selection of full energy peak, and coincidence effect and other factors on the 223Ra measurement results was also studied, the γ-ray emission probabilities from different nuclear databases can cause up to 30% deviation in the measurement results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single-frame complete spatiotemporal characteristics measurement method of ultrafast laser pulses, named Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing Spectral Interferometry (CFDMSI), is proposed and demonstrated. Based on the idea of frequency division multiplexing, the 3D spatiotemporal field E (x , y , t) of a femtosecond laser pulse can be reconstructed from a single spectral interferogram. The implementation of CFDMSI is quite simple, just fixing a slit array at the entrance of an imaging spectrometer, then injecting the unknown pulse and the reference pulse into the imaging spectrometer at a certain cross angle. By recording and analyzing a single spectral interferogram, the unknown pulse's spatiotemporal field in the sampling area of the slit array can be obtained. The principle and implementation of CFDMSI are introduced, and its effectiveness is verified by a demonstration experiment. • A single-frame complete spatiotemporal characterization method is proposed. • The Spectral Interferometry technique is improved by frequency division multiplexing. • The spatiotemporal coupling of ultrafast lasers can be measured in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion bombardment (IB) is a promising nanofabrication tool for self-organized nanostructures. When ions bombard a nominally flat solid surface, self-organized nanoripples can be induced on the irradiated target surface, which are called intrinsic nanoripples of the target material. The degree of ordering of nanoripples is an outstanding issue to be overcome, similar to other self-organization methods. In this study, the IB-induced nanoripples on bilayer systems with enhanced quality are revisited from the perspective of guided self-organization. First, power spectral density (PSD) entropy is introduced to evaluate the degree of ordering of the irradiated nanoripples, which is calculated based on the PSD curve of an atomic force microscopy image (i.e., the Fourier transform of the surface height. The PSD entropy can characterize the degree of ordering of nanoripples). The lower the PSD entropy of the nanoripples is, the higher the degree of ordering of the nanoripples. Second, to deepen the understanding of the enhanced quality of nanoripples on bilayer systems, the temporal evolution of the nanoripples on the photoresist (PR)/antireflection coating (ARC) and Au/ARC bilayer systems are compared with those of single PR and ARC layers. Finally, we demonstrate that a series of intrinsic IB-induced nanoripples on the top layer may act as a kind of self-organized template to guide the development of another series of latent IB-induced nanoripples on the underlying layer, aiming at improving the ripple ordering. The template with a self-organized nanostructure may alleviate the critical requirement for periodic templates with a small period of ~100 nm. The work may also provide inspiration for guided self-organization in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems consume near infrared (NIR) filters, which are key components for high conversion efficiency. Bandpass filters employing annular aperture array (AAA) on a fused silica substrate are one of candidates for matching GaSb cells in high-temperature TPV. It is often placed independently between the emitter and cell, and thus spectral control and heat insulation are simultaneously realized. For high efficiency, the smaller the characteristic size and the larger the size is beneficial for the filter. Novel sidewall lithography based on conventional interference lithography and ion-beam etching is first proposed and used for cost-effective fabrication. An AAA filter with a 80 nm critical dimension in a 100 mm × 160 mm area has been fabricated successfully. After the annealing process at 500 °C, the peak transmittance is increased to 70% from 65%, and no deformation is observed in the structural parameters of the filter before and after annealing, and calculated results demonstrate that the spectral efficiency is about 61%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion bombardment (IB) is a promising nanofabrication technique for producing nanoripples. A critical issue that restricts the application of IB is the limited quality of IB-induced nanoripples. Photoresist (PR) and antireflection coating (ARC) are of technological relevance for lithographic exposure processes. Moreover, to improve the quality of IB-induced self-organized nanoripples, in this study, a PR/ARC bilayer was bombarded at an incidence angle of 50°. The surface normalized defect density and power spectral density, obtained via scanning atomic force microscopy, indicate the superiority of the PR/ARC bilayer nanoripples over those of single PR or ARC layers. The growth mechanism of the improved nanoripples, deciphered via the temporal evolution of the morphology, involves the following processes: (i) formation of a well-grown IB-induced nanoripple prepattern on the PR, (ii) transfer of nanoripples from the PR to the ARC, forming an initial ARC nanoripple morphology for subsequent IB, and (iii) conversion of the initial nonuniform ARC nanoripples into uniform nanoripples. In this unique method, the angle of ion-incidence should be chosen so that ripples form on both PR and ARC films. Overall, this method facilitates nanoripple improvement, including prepattern fabrication for guiding nanoripple growth and sustainable nanoripple development via a single IB. Thus, the unique method presented in this study can aid in advancing academic research and also has potential applications in the field of IB-induced nanoripples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect of salidroside (SAL) on the crosstalk among liver metabonomics, gut barrier function and bile acids in furan-induced mice. Forty male mice were randomly divided into the following five groups: CON, FUR 8 (8 mg/kg/day furan), SAL 10 (8 mg/kg/day furan+10 mg/kg/day SAL), SAL 20 (8 mg/kg/day furan+20 mg/kg/day SAL), and SAL 40 (8 mg/kg/day+40 mg/kg/day SAL). Mice were administered with furan for 30 days and SAL was administered for 15 days from day 16. Principal components analysis (PCA) and heatmap were employed to probe metabonomics profile alterations in liver tissues and select thirty-eight potential biomarkers. Pathway analysis revealed primary bile acids were largely changed in the biosynthesis pathway. Moreover, SAL regulated the activation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), downregulating hepatic heterodimer partner (SHP), upregulating cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) as well as decreasing the expression of portal fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15), compared to the furan-treated group. Importantly, SAL dramatically increased the level of tight junction proteins, as immunohistochemistry results show. In conclusion, the ameliorative effects of SAL on liver damage induced by furan might be due to altered gut barrier function, while FXR signaling acted a significant role in the function of SAL. SAL play an ameliorative role to affect liver metabonomics in relation to modified gut-liver FXR signaling in furan-induced mice. Image 1 • Thirty-eight metabolites were identified by LC-MS system in FUR 8 group. • As the dose increasing, SAL altered at least 9 metabolites compared to FUR 8 group. • SAL changed the primary bile acids pathway compared to FUR 8 group. • SAL improved liver injury caused by furan by affecting gut barrier function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fabrication method comprising near‐field holography (NFH) with an electron beam lithography (EBL)‐written phase mask was developed to fabricate soft X‐ray varied‐line‐spacing gratings (VLSGs). An EBL‐written phase mask with an area of 52 mm × 30 mm and a central line density greater than 3000 lines mm−1 was used. The introduction of the EBL‐written phase mask substantially simplified the NFH optics for pattern transfer. The characterization of the groove density distribution and diffraction efficiency of the fabricated VLSGs indicates that the EBL–NFH method is feasible and promising for achieving high‐accuracy groove density distributions with corresponding image properties. Vertical stray light is suppressed in the soft X‐ray spectral range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a systematic Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) method for traffic performance assessment under urban floods caused by extreme rainfall events. A coupled rainfall-flood-traffic model has been developed as the prerequisite for evaluation with publicly available data. The DPSIR method integrates the natural and transportation systems into cause-effect-response impact chains and facilitates dynamic traffic performance measurement on the road and network levels. We apply this approach to the urban networks' motorways, trunk, and arterial roads in Shanghai, China. The results help identify critical roads and verify the effectiveness of demand-control strategies in improving traffic resilience. By offering decision-makers a comprehensive view of traffic operation under disruptions, this method can help them build a more resilient transport system in flood risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In our study, the ameliorative effect of salidroside (SAL) from Rhodiola Rosea L. on the intestinal microflora subject to furan-induced liver injury in a mouse model was investigated by 16 S rDNA, oxidative indexes, LPS and cytokine levels. The results demonstrated that SAL alleviated hepatic oxidative injury by inhibiting the activities of AST, ALT and the content of MDA, and promoting the activities of SOD, GSH and GST, compared to the furan-treated group. SAL significantly modified the intestinal microbial diversity and downregulated the circulating levels of serum LPS, IL-6, and TNF-α, as well as enhanced the content of IL-10. Importantly, SAL dramatically increased LPS-suppressing bacteria genera Akkermansia, and decreased LPS-producing bacteria phyla Proteobacteria. Our results indicate that SAL supplement restrains intestinal microbial dysbiosis and systemic low-grade inflammation induced by furan. Hopefully, SAL is a potential therapeutical and prophylactic compound in medicament for hepatic diseases. Graphical abstract SAL play an ameliorative role to improve liver diseases by affecting gut microbiota in furan-induced mice using 16 S rDNA sequencing. Image 1 Highlights • The ameliorative effect of SAL on gut microflora subject to furan-induced liver injury was investigated by 16 S rDNA. • SAL dramatically increased LPS-suppressing bacteria Akkermansia , and decreased LPS-producing bacteria Proteobacteria. • SAL supplement restrained intestinal microbial dysbiosis and systemic low-grade inflammation induced by furan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology evolution of self-organized nanopatterns induced during Ar+ ion bombardment (IB) with Mo co-deposition on fused silica (SiO2) surfaces at different incidence angles and fluences was investigated by using atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. For pure IB at incidence angles from 30° to 70°, SiO2 surfaces evolve from being flat, via ripples, to direction-transversed ripples. In contrast, at the same ion fluence and incidence angles, the simultaneous Mo co-deposition leads to significant terraced structures with significantly enhanced roughness and wavelength. Our observations show that the concurrent Mo co-deposition during IB can reduce the critical incidence angle and the fluence level of terrace formation. Owing to the guidance of the IB-induced morphology, at incidence angles where a well-ordered ripple-mode can be generated, well-ordered terrace morphology is more likely to be formed. Terraced structures are initiated and further grow until the appearance of the nonlinear phase, i.e., where the ripple amplitude is sufficiently high. The enhanced terrace morphology on smooth SiO2 results from the interplay between pure IB and Mo co-deposition. The phase separation is attributed to the formation of crystalline MoOx on the side facing the impurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ion beam sputtering (IBS) of smooth mono-elemental Si with impurity co-deposition is extended to a pre-rippled binary compound surface of fused silica (SiO). The dependence of the rms roughness and the deposited amount of Al on the distance from the Al source under Ar IBS with Al co-deposition was investigated on smooth SiO, pre-rippled SiO, and smooth Si surfaces, using atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Although the amounts of Al deposited on these three surfaces all decreased with increasing distance from the Al target, the morphology and rms roughness of the smooth Si surface did not demonstrate a strong distance dependence. In contrast to smooth Si, the rms roughness of both the smooth and pre-rippled SiO surfaces exhibited a similar distance evolution trend of increasing, decreasing, and final stabilization at the distance where the results were similar to those obtained without Al co-deposition. However, the pre-rippled SiO surfaces showed a stronger modulation of rms roughness than the smooth surfaces. At the incidence angles of 60° and 70°, dot-decorated ripples and roof-tiles were formed on the smooth SiO surfaces, respectively, whereas nanostructures of closely aligned grains and blazed facets were generated on the pre-rippled SiO, respectively. The combination of impurity co-deposition with pre-rippled surfaces was found to facilitate the formation of novel types of nanostructures and morphological growth. The initial ripples act as a template to guide the preferential deposition of Al on the tops of the ripples or the ripple sides facing the Al wedge, but not in the valleys between the ripples, leading to 2D grains and quasi-blazed grating, which offer significant promise in optical applications. The rms roughness enhancement is attributed not to AlSi, but to AlOF compounds originating mainly from the Al source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure effects of distributed feedback (DFB) gratings on lasing action have been investigated for detecting explosive vapors. For the first time, we have established the optimized profiles of the DFB grating, and given the theoretical path to design its structure for amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of organic polymer films based on Bragg conditions. A poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) (PPE) film can realize detection of dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapors in 2 min with a reduced excitation threshold of 26 mJ cm−2 by using a simple and common 405 nm laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we systematically investigate the morphological characteristics and evolution process of plasma induced pitting damage (PIPD) during the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching of fused silica with subsurface damage (SSD). Plasma induced pits are found to have uniform diameter as opposed to SSD induced pits. PIPD evolves differently in physical and reactive etching. In physical etching, the pit diameter increases linearly with etching time due to the etching of pit sidewall, while the depth remains constant. In CHF 3 plasma, depth also increases with etching time. This is due to the redistribution of F-based etchant caused by the pit sidewall, which enhances the local etching rate at the pit bottom. The fact that with increasing etching time the diameter increases linearly but remains uniform implies that all the pits are generated at the same time. More particularly, the fitted line suggests that PIPD forms at the beginning of plasma process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we introduce an optimum ICP etching technique that successfully removes the subsurface damage (SSD) layer of fused silica without causing plasma induced surface damage (PISD) or lateral etching of SSD. As one of the commonest PISD initiators, metal contamination from reactor chamber is prevented by employing a simple isolation device. Based on this device, a unique low-density pitting damage is discovered and subsequently eliminated by optimizing the etching parameters. Meanwhile etching anisotropy also improves a lot, thus preventing the lateral etching of SSD. Using this proposed technique, SSD layer of fused silica is successfully removed with a surface roughness of 0.23 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper applies multi-fractal spectrum theory into surface roughness evaluation in order to eliminate its heavy dependence on sampling position and sampling size. Based on AFM images of various substrates, their partition functions and multi-fractal spectra are calculated. The calculation indicates that the multi-fractal spectra differ significantly from each other for different samples, but are quite similar for the same sample in spite of the random change of sampling position and size, so it can reflect surface feature more objectively and accurately. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Focuses on the fabrication of the beam splitters for soft x-ray laser application. Incident angle of each optical element in the soft x-ray Mach Zehnder interferometer; Standard of design according to the structure of the soft X-ray Mach-Zehnder interferometer; Figure error of the beam splitter.

• Random nanoholes on photoresist were produced at normal and near-normal incidence. • Tunable nanoholes can be tailored/replicated with deterministic ion beam parameters. • XPS analysis confirmed ion bombardment-induced graphitization of resist. • Results imply mass redistribution is critical in pattern formation. • Ion bombardment-induced nanoholes are potential nano-templates for pattern transfer. Random nanohole morphologies on a photoresist surface were produced spontaneously by ion bombardment, from normal to near-normal incidence. At an optimized ion energy, the critical parameters (diameter and depth) and uniformity of these nanoholes can be tailored with multi-ion parameters, including ion fluence (i.e. bombardment time), ion flux, and incidence angle. The temporal evolution of the nanohole structures, at normal incidence, showed growth and stabilization regimes. The mass redistribution effect and the distribution of energy deposition led to the transition from nanoholes to nanoripples, which were deduced from the crater shape evolution at low incidence angles. The incidence angle-dependent evolution of the crater shape (or rim) on the resist surface is consistent with the crater function simulation, and confirms the ion bombardment-induced surface atomic currents and mass redistribution. Finally, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization confirmed ion bombardment-induced decomposition, in particular, graphitization in the surface layer of the resist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy dependence of resist morphology under ion bombardment is demonstrated. • Light molecules in organic resist were enriched by ion bombardment. • Ion energy shows great potential for modulating chemistry and morphology. • Nanoholes were formed on organic resist in a wide ion energy range. • Morphology evolution is preliminarily explained using existing theoretical models. The energy dependence of nanostructures on a photoresist produced by ion bombardment (IB) under normal incidence is studied through atomic force microscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS). The energy-dependent morphology evolved from weak islands via nanoholes to a smooth surface on the resist; in particular, nanoholes were produced for a broad energy range of 300–550 eV. The enrichment of light components in the surface layer of the irradiated resist was illustrated owing to the strong decomposition of the photoresist by IB. The energy dependence of the morphologies is explained according to the ToF-SIMS characterization and the existing theoretical models of IB, which is an IB-induced synergy of chemical variation and sputtering. This study extends the IB in inorganic materials into an organic-multicomponent photoresist and provides new insights into the experimental evidence for nanoholes and possible parameters to improve the relevant theoretical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We designed and fabricated polarization-independent multilayer dielectric reflection gratings of 1300 line/mm for spectral beam combining. Because the designed grating has a duty cycle (or fill factor) much greater than 0.5, we used the lift-off process to invert a less-than-0.5 duty cycle photoresist mask to a greater-than-0.5 duty cycle chromium mask. Because the simultaneous polarization-independence and high-angular-dispersion requirements greatly reduce fabrication tolerance, we employed the end-point detection techniques to control accurately the duty cycle and groove depth of the grating profile to reach the design target. The measured polarization-averaged diffraction efficiency of the fabricated gratings was greater than 97% in the wavelength range of 1050 nm–1080 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]